City of the Star
by The Werewolf Mage
Summary: Raymond Vester is on the job again. He finds himself in a small community called Citlali with a new partner, Jacqueline Walz. Can they beat the BSAA to a sample of what the locals refer to as "tlatl?"
1. Chapter 1

Title: City of the Star

Summary: Raymond Vester is on the job again. He finds himself in a  
small community called Citlali with a new partner, Jacqueline Walz. Can  
they beat the BSAA to a sample of what the locals refer to as "tlatl?"

_Notes: It has been quite the long time since I wrote anything _  
_fanfiction related. I've been working on my own stories, but I just _  
_fell in love with Raymond when I first saw him. I always like the minor _  
_characters for some reason. Poor Raymond, he needs some more fanfic _  
_attention. And more fan art, but that's nothing I can help!_

_Parker will appear later. I may include Jill or some other BSAA agents. _  
_But you will see Parker! This will also include some headcanon my _  
_sister and I have about Raymond, such as the fact we think he loves red. _  
_Not Grell Sutcliff obsessed, but we think he's to the point of having _  
_red accents in his furnishing, drives a red Corvette Convertible, and _  
_does all his reports in red ink._

_Lastly, I may do a sequel, not quite sure yet._

Chapter 1

They were on the way home from school when Reginald DeWitt and Harold  
Fliess saw it. On the corner of Ribold Street, in front of the run down  
looking bookshop that everyone had expected to go out of business months  
ago, sat a bright red Corvette Convertible. The two teens were dimly  
aware of their books hitting the pavement as they hurried over to the  
car.

"She's a beauty," Harry said, letting out a low whistle. He stepped as  
close as he could to the car, wanting to touch the shiny red paint but  
not daring to. A car that sleek had to have one hell of an alarm  
system.

"I know," Reginald said, trailing off with a sigh. He sounded  
lovestruck. "I wonder what you'd have to do to get one."

"Shut up, Reg. I don't even want to think of it!"

The young men spent nearly seven minutes in silence, walking around the  
sports car, admiring it from every angle. Luckily for them, the streets  
were not busy. Had that not been the case, the friends would have  
probably wound up in the hospital. As they stood in the street, both  
mentally debating on sliding in the passenger seat just for a second,  
they heard a woman say "Excuse me."

They turned in unison to find themselves facing a woman in her late  
twenties. She cocked her head to the side, black hair tumbling past her  
shoulder as she did. They started to apologize and move out of the  
street. She raised an eyebrow to the man who slipped into the driver's  
seat. He gave a her a minor shrug of the shoulders in response. As she  
took her seat on the passenger's side and buckled herself in, she heard  
the taller of the two teenage boys say "We need to get whatever job he  
has."

Jacqueline Walz stifled a laugh as she buckled her seat belt. She looked  
at the owner of the sleek sports car, Raymond Vester, as he started it.  
"May I?" she asked, reaching for the cigarette lighter.

"Go for it," was his response. She popped out the lighter as he drove  
off, scattering books as the car cut the corner. This time she could  
not hold her laughter in. She was laughing so hard she missed plugging  
in the adapter to her laptop twice.

"Check your car for drool stains, darling," she said, still bubbling  
with the occasional giggle.

"Don't call me that," Raymond replied, glancing at her before turning  
his gaze back to the road. She gave him no response, not even a shrug  
or eye roll, as she settled down in the seat and began to type rapidly  
on the laptop in her hands.

He had met her nearly an hour before, right in that bookshop that most  
of the locals felt needed to go out of business. One of his contacts  
for TriCell has sent him to meet his new partner. Boy, was he surprised  
and displeased. A new mission was the last thing he wanted. Zenobia  
had only occurred five months ago. He had brought the T-Abyss sample  
back to them via Jessica Sherawat. What more could they want?

Something from Mexico was the only answer he had been given at the time.  
Raymond was told that, along with his partner, he would meet a contact  
as soon as they reached Citlali, a city on the Pacific coast of Mexico.

If a mission was the last thing he wanted, a partner was right above it.  
He could work alone, it had worked so well for him on the Zenobia.  
Sure, he had been partnered with a woman at that time, but she had been  
foolish enough to get herself killed before things even fully started.

"Raymond!" The impatient tone of his new partner's voice brought  
Raymond back from the cruise ship. "Where were you just now?"

"Thinking of my last mission."

Jacqueline seemed to pout, a move that made Raymond want to roll his own  
eyes at her. Instead, he went her route: ignoring her.

"What happened?" she asked. He continued to ignore her. He could feel  
her watching him, could see her foot bouncing impatiently out of the  
corner of his eye. Still, Raymond ignored her. The ride to their  
private plane was silent except for the clacking of the laptop keys.

That brought another question to Raymond's mind. Why would TriCell want  
a hacker? Jacqueline, he had been told, was a skilled hacker. He was  
also told he would find her to be very useful in Citlali. That, he  
would never admit, did have him curious.

It felt like hours before the red car turned into a private hanger smack  
in the middle of nowhere. Jacqueline unplugged her laptop, slipped it  
back in the black leather bag she carried it in, and got out of the  
car. She was smiling at Raymond, something he was not sure he liked.  
"Please," she said, "don't kiss the car good-bye."

"I hadn't planned on it." The keys were tossed to a young man who  
looked fresh out of school. Raymond headed towards the small aircraft  
that awaited them. Jacqueline looked back to the boy before hurrying  
after him.

"Wow," she breathed. "You trust him with your 'vette?"

Raymond stopped completely, but not because he wanted to wait for her to  
catch him. He looked her in the eye, bright blue that day but he would  
find them green tomorrow. Like her hair, she often changed her eye  
color. She was wearing heels. Without them, he assumed she would only  
be four inches shorter than him. "What I trust," he said slowly, "is  
that the kind, wonderful people we work for will make sure my car is  
safe. If not, with what they pay us, I can always afford another one."

Jacqueline raised her hands in a defeated gesture. "OK, OK," she said.  
"I was just teasing. You don't have to be a grump. Or are you always a  
grump?"

That got her no answer. She sighed, wondering what exactly Raymond's  
problem was. He had seemed pissed off when they first met, and he  
seemed to still be pissed off. On the small plane, she finally got the  
chance to ask him exactly what his problem with her was.

The craft was small, with only six seats, a small cockpit, a tiny  
galley, and a tinier bathroom. Jacqueline flopped down into the first  
seat she reached and clutched her bag to her chest. She has no plans of  
letting it go until they were in the air. Without noticing it, she  
wrinkled her nose as Raymond passed her to sit as far from her as he  
could be. Tossing her bag over her shoulder, Jacqueline rose to her  
feet and stalked down the short aisle to his seat. Before Raymond could  
object, she dropped herself into the seat next to him, fastened the  
seatbelt, and said, "Before we get started, I want to know one thing.  
What is your problem with me? You have acted as though I shot your  
beloved pet ever since we met. I know I've never seen you before, so  
what's your deal?"

Raymond removed his glasses to study her better. In his eyes burned a  
mixture of fury at her joining him, amusement at her little outburst,  
and admiration for the fact that she gave off the air of a fighter.  
Absently twirling the shades by a leg, he said, "I suppose I should  
apologize. My anger isn't directed at you, Jacqueline."

"Jackie."

"What?" Raymond demanded.

"Jackie. It's shorter, therefore faster to say." She wanted to laugh  
at the confused expression on his face. Instead, she leaned closer to  
clarify. "Let's say you need my help. You're about to die and you can  
only get out three syllables. Would you rather get out 'Jacqueline' or  
'Jackie, help!' I know which one I'd rather hear."

She immediately leaned away, almost certain his response would be to  
throttle her. To her surprise, he laughed. "Good point," he said when  
his laughter had ceased. "As for my problem, it's not with you. It's  
with the fact that I often find myself with a partner, and my last one  
chose to die on me."

Jacqueline snorted. "I doubt he had much of a choice."

"She, actually." Raymond paused, then chose to continue on, wanting to  
make sure Jacqueline knew everything before deeming him sexist and  
tossing him out of the plane. "She spent the entire trip towards our  
target complaining that she did not want to go, she had no choice, she  
felt like she would be doomed if she took this mission but felt she  
could not object. I confess, I always thought she was lacking a little  
in training, and - "

"Let me finish, please!" Jacqueline was nearly bouncing in her seat.  
Raymond felt sure that was from eagerness and not the plane taking off.  
"I'm picturing a blonde, with an impractical non-regulation outfit that  
left movement hard and her tits hanging out." It was her turn to laugh  
at Raymond's reaction. Before he could ask how she knew, she said,  
"It's not my first go around, darling. I've seen girls, bright and dim,  
trained and untrained, who break the rules and who follow the rules all  
go down because of their sexual side." With a chuckle, she added, "I  
highly doubt there's any humanity left in these B.O.W.s to notice a  
perky rack and think anything of it."

She began to rummage around in her bag again. Instead of removing her  
laptop, she removed a contact lens case. "You won't have to worry about  
me," she assured Raymond. "Aside from a few quirks," she said, placing  
her finger to her eye, "I'm very practical." He watched as she removed  
her contacts, revealing chocolate brown eyes. She placed them in the  
case, and, feeling the conversation was over, reached into her bag and  
removed an iPod. She smiled once more before putting in her earbuds and  
leaned back.

"Well," Raymond decided, looking out of the window as the plane lifted  
off, "this might be interesting."


	2. Chapter 2

City of the Star

_Notes: This is one of those many chapters that I've written that I have _  
_either had ideas for right before bed, and forget them the next morning, _  
_or I write those ideas down and can't read my own handwriting at the _  
_time because I had my glasses off. I may rewrite this one later._

_I also apologize for the formatting. No matter what I do, it goes into _  
_the the document manager like this. _

Chapter 2

Jacqueline had fallen asleep during the flight, leaving Raymond alone  
with his thoughts. At one point, he glanced at the woman in the seat  
next to him. She mumbled something in her sleep before she turned away  
from him. _'I knew I had her pegged as a chatterbox,'_ he thought. _'Even _  
_in her sleep she's trying to get something sassy out.'_

She did not wake up until a half hour before they landed. To his  
surprise, she only yawned, stretched, and made a remark about her hair.  
"I wish I had the time to dye it," she said, staring at a lock of black  
hair that had fallen in her face. With a teasing smile, she reached  
over and grabbed a lock of his own dyed hair. "I could have dyed it to  
match yours. We'd be a set."

Raymond brushed his hair back into place and scoffed. "Yes, draw  
attention to ourselves."

She shrugged. "I don't know. We'd probably be considered a couple and  
people would leave it at that. Matching tattoos, matching hair styles,  
matching clothes, couples seem to do it all the time."

"Hmph."

They were silent until they landed. Even Jacqueline's laptop stayed in  
its bag. As soon as they were able to leave, Raymond removed his  
seat belt, strode past Jacqueline, and out the door. She joined him soon  
after, and together they met their contact. The man was smaller than  
Jacqueline, but looked as mean as a snake. His black hair was slicked  
back, his perfect teeth set in what seemed like a cheerful, if forced  
smile, as he introduced himself. The only name they received from him  
was 'Marco.'

"Come, my new friends," he told them after the introductions. He lead  
them towards an olive green jeep. "I have just what the two of you  
need." In the vehicle was a deep wine colored messenger bag. Crawling  
into the back, Jacqueline seized it and opened it. Among the many  
pockets she found false identification, money, two cell phones, and a  
large handful of flash drives. "Excellent," she remarked. She was also  
certain the bottom of the bag was false, and Jacqueline had a shrewd  
idea as to what was in that compartment.

"Will that be enough?" Marco asked, glancing into the rear view mirror  
to study the young woman carefully. If he was a betting man, and he  
was, he would place his money on her either dying or blowing their  
mission. Perhaps even both.

"If not I can always get more."

"My number's programmed into those phones. If you need anything else,  
give me a call. I apologize about the lack of necessities, but you  
should have more than enough money to get you what you need. Dress up  
like tourists, blend in. Make it easy on yourselves to get whatever  
information you need on tlatl."

Raymond raised an eyebrow at this. "Is that what we're after, then?"

Marco nodded. "Oh yes. Citlali has become home to a "pharmaceutical"  
company. While their obnoxious hospital is right on the beach within  
driving distance for the locals and their many tourists alike, it's too  
big for a place like Citlali. Small town, little more than a village.  
The locals all know each other by sight. Tourists arrive in flocks due  
to the scenery. Then about four years ago, that massive hospital was  
completed. If you ask anyone who has lived in Citlali all their lives,  
they'll tell you the hospital wound up being five times the size anyone  
expected. People go in, but sometimes they don't come out."

"Sounds like a horror movie," Raymond remarked.

Marco chuckled and slapped his palm against the steering wheel. "A  
horror movie! That's it entirely."

"Then where does 'tlatl' come from?" Jacqueline asked. She leaned  
forward from the backseat, her hands clasped between her knees. Marco  
may not give her much in the ways of skill, but Raymond, watching her  
from the rear view mirror, was impressed. She was paying attention,  
acting almost frightened. It was an act, he was sure of it.

"I don't know who started the name, but 'tlatl' means 'fire' in the  
Aztec language. It's a name well suited if you believe half the rumors  
that float around. The hospital, it uses fire to dispose of their  
failures. According to some, there is a room within the building that  
has a fire burning all day and all night. There have been sightings of  
scorched footprints along the beach. I have even heard a report or two  
about a flaming creature that wandered out of the building, only to be  
taken down by 'doctors' on staff. Eerie things, even if you do not  
believe in it."

He slowed the car to a stop before turning to face his companions.  
"This is where we will part ways for now. Up ahead is a hotel. Get a  
room, act like it is a trip. Call me if you need anything. Just do not  
give yourselves a way. Find a way into that hospital and bring me a  
sample. Then you can go home."

Raymond and Jacqueline shook hands with Marco. She shifted the bag from  
one shoulder to the other as they began their trek to the hotel. It was  
easily identifiable as a long, pale pink building to their left. Behind  
it waves broke against the shore as little sand birds hopped along the  
sand, nibbling at seaweed. "Raymond?"

"Hmm?"

"Beware the flaming jellyfish."

He scoffed at her and said, "Flaming sea turtles is my guess."

She laughed at him as he tried to hide his own smile. She stopped  
suddenly, her expression serious now. "Was it just me, or did our new  
friend Marco seem like he would rather put a bullet in our heads than  
help us?"

"You too?"

Jacqueline breathed a sigh of relief. "Glad it wasn't just me."

They reached the hotel, went up the rickety wooden steps that looked as  
if they were carved from driftwood, and slipped into the door, the bell  
overhead twinkled in acknowledgement.

The clerk, a young woman with her face buried in a gossip magazine,  
jumped in surprise. She quickly covered, smiling sweetly at the two of  
them. "Good afternoon, welcome to the Star Inn. I'm afraid we don't have  
a double room available right now. Would two separate rooms be fine?"

"Of course," Jacqueline said, jumping in before Raymond could speak. She  
jerked her thumb towards him. "This one likes his privacy."

Confusion flickered on the clerk's face for a moment, but she managed to  
hold her smile. "Of course." After she pecked at the computer keys for a  
minute, she announced, "Rooms thirteen and sixteen are available.  
They're just down the hall from each other."

"That's fine," Raymond told her. He completed the transaction, paying  
enough to keep their rooms for a week. They were assured they could  
renew their rooms at any time, just as long as it was before the week  
was up. Raymond offered the keys to Jacqueline, who chose room thirteen.

'Good thing I'm not superstitious,' she thought. Out loud, she said, "By  
the way, where you would recommend getting some decent clothes?" She  
gestured to the bag. "This is the only one that managed to come along  
with us. The rest of our things wound up in Hawaii, and we were told it  
would take some time before they would be returned to us."

The young woman considered this for a moment. "Well, if you want name  
brand, you're probably out of luck unless you want to pay out twice as  
much as you should. But there are several little shops on Ocean Avenue  
that sells what anyone would need here."

Jacqueline thanked her. Together, she and Raymond made their way to  
their rooms. "Smooth," Raymond said once they were out of the woman's  
line of sight.

"Huh?"

"The Hawaii lie. That was slick."

"Oh," Jacqueline said, sounding pleased. "Thank you. That one came  
easy." She thought for a moment, then chuckled. "Ocean Avenue. How  
cute."

Raymond snorted. As they reached her room, she unlocked the door and  
gestured him in. Without a word, Raymond tossed the bag on the twin bed.  
Still silent, they divided the contents. When Raymond reached the false  
bottom and pulled out two handguns, he asked, "Can you use one?"

Jacqueline took it and said, "I may be a desk jockey to some, but yeah,  
I definitely know my way around a gun." It was heavy in her hand, cool  
and smooth. She handed it back to him. "I want to go get some clothes,  
see if I can find anything out while I'm at it. I don't want to leave it  
in here. You keep it until I get back."

"Watch out for sea turtles."

Raymond had been kidding, of course, but Jacqueline felt a little jumpy  
as she found Ocean Avenue. There were small shops lining the avenue,  
some full of beach attire, some full of beach "toys" like surfboards and  
metal detectors, tacky tourist shops with shell dolls, Citlali shirts  
and hats, and car decals, and a seafood shack that really was the size  
of a shack. Further down she could see more restaurants and food carts.  
The smells made her hungry, but the main goal for now was getting  
clothing.

The first shop she tried, Clothing of the Star, was the jackpot. As she  
passed until the blue hand lettered sign, Jacqueline thought, _'I'm _  
_sensing a lot of puns here._' The only other customers were two  
sunburned women bickering over which dresses would be appropriate for a  
night on the town.

"You need any help?"

Jacqueline turned to the asker, finding herself looking down at a rather  
short woman. Her face was nearly as stern as the bun her hair had been  
squeezed into. She shot an irritated look at the squawking women before  
turning her attention back to Jacqueline.

"I need to replace my wardrobe. None of my clothing made the flight  
with me."

The woman, who eventually introduced herself as Nila, lead Jacqueline to  
the back of the shop. "Around here, you only really need three things:  
a swimsuit, sun dresses, and flip flops. We do have shorts, but most  
women opt for swim wear and wraps during the day, sun dresses at night."  
She looked back to the bickering customers and added, "And for God's  
sake, wear sunblock."

Nila was right, of course. Only a small display held shorts and tank  
tops. The rest of the clothing was devoted to the things she had  
listed. Jacqueline wanted to laugh. "I've never seen so many dresses  
in one place, not even in a dress shop."

"What can I say? They're breezy and comfortable." She looked up at  
Jacqueline and asked, "Since your luggage didn't make it, do you want me  
to go in the back and see what I can find?"

"Please," Jacqueline replied as she began to look the racks of  
swimsuits.

By the time Nila returned with three large bags, Jacqueline had grabbed  
what she hoped she needed. A green monokini with matching wrap, two  
pairs of shorts, two tank tops, three dresses, two pairs of flip flops,  
and on top of the pile of garments sat a bottle of sunblock.

"Smart girl," Nila said, dropping the bags on the counter. "Which one  
do you want? The smaller one will do."

Jacqueline considered the bags, then said, "I'll take them all. I have  
a companion traveling with me, and none of his clothing made it either.  
Not to mention the other things I'll need to pick up later," she said  
with what she hoped was a weary sigh.

She barely listened as Nila rang up her purchases. Her mind was on  
other things, like whether or not she should head back to the hotel, or  
go and explore. She did not want to go near the hospital Marco  
mentioned, not yet anyway. She paid and left, assuring Nila that should  
she need anything else, she would return there first. On the way out,  
she scoffed as she past the bickering twosome again. _'Poor lady, having _  
_to deal with that,'_ she thought.

Once she reached the hotel, the urge to laugh had returned. Raymond had  
managed to find a beach chair and some clothing of his own, it seemed.  
His sunglasses were back as well. Hands locked behind his head and cell  
phone resting on his chest, he seemed like a comfortable beach bum.

"Having fun?"

He looked at her over the sunglasses. "Sure. Aren't you?"

"A blast," she replied, leaving him to go to her room. "Just remember  
why we're here!" she called over her shoulder.

"I'll get started on that in the morning. Good night." He then  
chuckled as the door to her room slammed behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

_City of the Star_

_Notes: This chapter I kept putting off, mainly due to time. I _  
_completely lost the original plan for it, but I am happy with how it _  
_came out. It did have a lot I wanted to include._

_Chapter 3_

"Are you sure you want to do this now?" Jacqueline stared at Raymond,  
who had his arms crossed over his chest and was staring her down in  
turn. She bounced her phone from Marco in one hand as she stared. She  
knew it was hopeless, he had planned on doing just this. She could  
either let him go alone, or she could go with him.

She let out a frustrated groan and stuffed the phone in the pocket of  
the light dress she was wearing. "If I get killed, I'm blaming you."

"If you're dead, you can't blame anyone."

"Shut up!"

Raymond laughed as he led her out of the room. It was nearly midnight,  
apparently the perfect time to do reconnaissance. Jacqueline followed  
Raymond down the beach, shivering a little as a slight breeze blew off  
the ocean. The hospital was a large, hulking shadow beast several feet  
down the beach. Jacqueline pulled out her phone and began snapping  
pictures of everything she could by the light of the moon, careful to  
make it look like she was not aiming at the hospital itself. She even  
snapped one of Raymond when he was not paying her attention.

"What do you think would be the best way to get in? Or at least get a  
good look?"

Jacqueline snapped one more picture before answering. "Behind, perhaps?  
I believe someone around here rents jet skis. Just act like you're  
cruising by, take a good, quick look..." She trailed off and shrugged  
as they continued to walk.

"I was thinking I could break your arm."

"Oh, how cute," Jacqueline said, her tone oozing sarcasm. She adopted a  
creepy tone in her voice. "But you might never see me again," she  
rasped.

He shook his head and began to walk ahead of her. She would pause every  
now and then to snap more pictures. Thankfully, the moon was high and  
bright, providing Jacqueline with more than enough light to capture  
several different pictures.

At the top of a dune, they spotted a flickering orange light. "Bon  
fire," Jacqueline muttered after swallowing a giggle. "Think that might  
be what these weirdos see at night?"

"Probably."

Her phone's camera whirred as she snapped a few more pictures. She  
scrambled down the dune and continued on. When she realized Raymond was  
not with her, Jacqueline looked back. "Are you coming?" she called.

"Yeah." He joined her at the bottom of the dune. Suddenly, he grabbed  
her arm and pulled her closer to the shadow ahead of them. "Come here,  
I think I saw something."

"OK, OK, just lighten your grip!" She managed to struggle free from  
Raymond's grip and reluctantly followed him. She stopped in her tracks,  
kicking sand out in front of her, as they came upon a wall of the  
hospital. While this was too close to either of their liking at the  
time, what they saw was enough to make them forget.

On the wall, low to the ground but still clear enough to see, was a bit  
of orange graffiti. In foot high letters, someone had started to write  
TLATL. On the second T, the paint smudged and streaked, making it  
hardly recognizable as a T. It looked as though the writer was forcibly  
dragged away from their work. Jacqueline shuddered and not from the  
chill.

"Let's go," she said. "If they just removed whomever did this, they'll  
come back to clean it." Without realizing what she was doing,  
Jacqueline snapped a picture of it before she shoved the phone back in  
her pocket.

"Good point."

Neither spoke until they reached Raymond's room. Jacqueline made  
herself at home by dropping down on his unmade bed. She pulled out her  
phone and began to look through the pictures she had taken. ""Do you  
think we should call our friend Marco about the graffiti?" she asked.

"I want to leave him out of this," Raymond replied. "As much as we can,  
at least."

Jacqueline glanced up at Raymond and smiled. He leaned against the  
door, arms crossed over his chest like she often saw him. He looked  
pissed that she was on his bed, but he would get over it as far as she  
was concerned. "I have to agree with you on that. I haven't even heard  
from him. Have you?"

"No."

Raymond watched her as she studied her pictures. She frowned at one in  
particular. "Come look at this." Somewhat reluctantly, Raymond crossed  
the room and sat down next to her on the bed. She offered her phone to  
him, then pointed to the lower left of the picture displayed on the  
screen.

The moon was reflecting off the water's surface, creating a rippling  
double of itself on the ocean. In the left of the picture, the far side  
of the hospital was clearly visible. On the bottom left corner there  
appeared to be a small window, almost out of frame, that also seemed to  
reflect the moon.

"I didn't notice that," she said.

"Neither did I. We'll have to get a better look at it during the day."

Jacqueline did a sarcastic fist pump. "Yay," she cheered.

"You don't have to come with me. In fact, you don't have to do  
anything."

"No," Jacqueline said, getting to her feet, "I'll go. Someone needs to  
cover you. Besides, as weird as that place is, I am actually curious  
about it." She bid him good night and left, returning to her own room.

She was not tired, so she pulled out her laptop and switched it on.  
"Let's see what I can find..." she told the empty room. With a few  
keystrokes, she found herself on the main site for the Bioterrorism  
Security Assessment Alliance. Humming to herself, Jacqueline began to  
type. "What do you guys have on Raymond?" she murmured, her fingers  
flying across the keys.

She knew what they had on her. She closely monitored her own profile on  
the site, especially when she was on assignment. No BSAA agent would  
ambush her in the dead of night as long as she was careful.

She skimmed most of his information. Age, hair color, blood type, none  
of that mattered at the moment. What mattered was last known location.

"Unknown," Jacqueline sighed with relief. She started to close the  
laptop, then stopped. Out of curiosity, she began to type again.  
Perhaps it was a bit paranoid, but she wondered what the BSAA was up to  
now. After reading several messages relayed from one Chris Redfield to  
one Parker Luciani she began to swear.

"Damn them!" Getting to her feet, Jacqueline held the machine partially  
closed as she rushed to Raymond's room. She knocked on the door, soft  
but rapid. It seemed like eons before Raymond answered the door. He  
had been trying to sleep.

"What is it?" he hissed, dragging her into his room. "Don't wake anyone  
else up! Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Jacqueline opened the laptop and took a quick look at the clock in the  
corner. The clock showed it had been well over an hour since she had  
accessed the BSAA's information. That did not matter to her. "Look,"  
she demanded, thrusting the laptop towards Raymond.

"The BSAA - are you mad? Do you want them to know you've been hacking  
them?"

"I've done it before, and I always cover my tracks. But that isn't it!  
_Look!_" She pointed to the emails. "Do you want me to break it down for  
you? They're coming this way. We have got to get a move on!"

Raymond quickly skimmed the messages. "Damn it," he whispered. He  
looked at Jacqueline very carefully. Her eyes, now a dark mossy green,  
were blazing. Her jaw was set in determination. The only sign that she  
was given that she was not pissed was the fact that she was also chewing  
her lower lip.

He walked behind her and locked the door. "OK, let's get this started."  
The two of them were up most of the night. Almost a half hour before  
sunrise, their plan seemed to be complete. They agreed to sleep until  
noon. After that, things would have to get in motion.


	4. Chapter 4

_City of the Star_

_I just want to thank those of you who are viewing. I really appreciate _  
_it, and I'm glad I managed to catch some interest._

_Chapter 4_

Jacqueline barely slept, but the adrenaline running through her kept her  
very alert. The partners had tried to make it look like they were  
simple tourists, taking lunch at a small seafood place near the beach  
before asking their waiter where they could rent a car for the day.  
Jacqueline had hardly listened as Raymond talked with the waiter about  
some hot spots they could find just out of town.

That had been an hour ago. Now she listened intently to Raymond as the  
two of them bounced along a rocky stretch of road in their small rented  
jeep. "They would send Parker," he was saying.

"So you know him."

"Yes. He and I used to work together for a little while. I doubt he'd  
be happy to see me, seeing as how last time I saw him, I saved him from  
dying on the Queen Zenobia, then dumped him in the Mediterranean."

"You what?" Jacqueline turned to face Raymond, her hair whipping around  
her. "Did I just hear you correctly?"

Raymond nodded, taking his eyes off the road for a second to meet hers.  
"I dumped him in the Mediterranean. I, of course, could not take him  
with me. He is in the BSAA, after all." After a pause, he added, "I  
did leave him somewhere he would be found."

"Remind me not to need your help," Jacqueline muttered. She attempted  
to brush her hair out of her eyes, then gave up. The open vehicle would  
not allow her hair to stay in place.

Raymond smirked. "You'll be fine... just as long as you don't cross  
me."

In an effort to change the subject, Jacqueline asked, "So, any changes  
to the plan?"

"None." He looked at the road ahead of them. Barely visible on the  
horizon was the outskirts of a city about twice the size of Citlali.  
Many tourists had found their way here, as the locals advised them to  
do. There was more to do for people who did not like just a life on the  
beach. The bars, clubs, and people were a little less exotic but were  
promised to be more exciting.

"Did I just see a strip club?" Jacqueline asked him as they drove into  
the heart of the area.

"Probably." He brought the rental to a stop in front of a deli. "You  
know what to do, right?" She nodded. "Good. Meet me back here in an  
hour."

He let her by the jeep, wondering for a moment if she would be fine by  
herself. They could cover more ground, and could cover it faster,  
separately.

He reached down, made sure his phone was in his pocket, then crossed the  
busy street. Jackie had her part to play and he had his. He ducked  
down one alley and came out onto another street. He pulled his phone  
from his pocket and began to send texts. While he did that, he would  
glance out the corner of his eye, looking at every shop he passed. He  
stopped in front of a brick building that housed a boutique. After  
sending a few more diversion texts, he snapped his phone shut and  
murmured "Perfect."

It took Raymond's eyes a moment to get used to the dimness of the  
boutique. He blinked rapidly then stepped further into the shop. He  
knew exactly what they needed and did not dally. The two would never  
past for "doctors," but dark clothing would suffice.

He found himself doubly lucky that the young man behind the counter  
seemed more interested in his magazine than in Raymond himself. He  
would never even remember Raymond was there.

When he returned to the bright sunshine outside of the shop, Raymond  
found himself wondering again if Jackie could jam the BSAA's  
communications. When he asked her the night before, she had said she  
was not sure if she could.

"I've never tried anything like that before," she had confessed. "I'll  
see what I can do, but I can't promise anything."

'If she can't do that,' he thought, 'she can at least try to keep tabs  
on where they are.'

Finding the second place he needed to go to was a little more  
challenging. Silently, Raymond cursed Marco for not providing them with  
everything they could possibly need.

As Raymond hunted for one shop, Jacqueline hunted for another.  
Mentally, she wondered if this plan of theirs would work, but she did  
not voice concerns to Raymond. 'It's too much like a movie,' she  
thought. 'Nothing works like the movies.'

She had been completely shocked by his request to block BSAA  
communications. She had never done that before. She could perhaps hack  
into their frequency if that would help, but completely messing with  
them? She shook her head as she wandered the streets.

A large crowd had gathered in front of a store. Jacqueline managed to  
catch bits and pieces of the conversation, but for the most part she  
could not understand it at all. She pushed her way through the crowd  
and managed to reach the door. As she grasped the knob, a thought  
struck her. _'This would be a better place for a bioterrorist attack _  
_than Citlali.'_

She shuddered as she stepped into the store. It was more crowded than  
the entrance if that was even possible. _'The one place I need to go...'_  
she thought bitterly. She stepped past two small children that were  
fighting over a handheld video game system. _'How am I ever going to _  
_find anything in here?_' she wondered.

She passed up and down aisle after aisle of electronics, but not the  
type of electronic device she needed. She bent down to examine a small,  
somewhat expensive set of walkies when she heard someone clear their  
throat. She straightened up and turned around, then cringed.

An older man nearly half a foot shorter than herself was grinning at  
her. "May I help you?" he asked with a thick accent.

"Just looking," Jacqueline replied casually. "Trying to find a present  
for a friend, you know."

"Oh? What is she interested in?"

He took a step closer to her. Jacqueline could feel her skin crawl as  
he looked her over. "He," she said, "really enjoys beating up  
perverts."

"Tsh." The man walked away from her, muttering in Spanish. Jacqueline  
looked around, made sure no one was looking in her direction, palmed the  
walkies, tucked them in her pocket, then casually walked out of the  
store.

On the street she increased her speed, not stopping for anything or  
anyone until she reached the jeep. She beat Raymond there, though she  
would have been happier if he was there before her.

She slid into the passenger seat, tucked the stolen goods under the  
seat, and grabbed her phone. Raymond answered on the first ring.  
"Please tell me you're on your way."

"I am. Any trouble?"

"Nothing you'd ditch me in the ocean over. I hope."

Raymond gritted his teeth. "I'll be right there," he told her. "Just  
stay put and don't kill anyone."

"Right."

Jacqueline sat there, fighting the urge to glance around. After what  
seemed like an hour Raymond joined her. "Did you get what you needed?"  
he demanded.

"Uh, yeah, but I don't know what good it will do..." she trailed off as  
she removed the walkies from under the seat.

"How much?"

"Oh they were on clearance. Five finger discount."

He stared at her. She broke and looked away. "I didn't want to deal  
with that guy, he was a creeper. I pissed him off and swiped them.  
Honestly, with everything I do, a little theft really isn't going to  
hurt too much." She turned them over in her hand, her thumb caressing  
the buttons. "I really don't think this will work."

"Worth a try," Raymond said, pulling out of the parking spot.

They did not speak for most of the ride back to Citlali. He tossed one  
of the bags to her and followed her to her room. He sat down on the bed  
next to her and watched silently as she booted up her laptop. "I should  
find something smaller," she muttered. Her fingers flew across the  
keyboard as she typed. When she reached the BSAA database she scowled.

"Nothing." She closed the laptop and looked at Raymond. "Unless  
they've decided to back out, then we're going in blind." Jacqueline  
glanced at the walkies before grabbing one. "Here's hoping..."

As she worked on the walkies with a very little toolkit, Raymond paced  
the room. He was at the window when the phone in his pocket vibrated.  
"Damn."

"What?" Jacqueline did not look up from what she was attempting to do.

"Marco."

"Son of a - " Jacqueline let out a muffled squeak as a static squeal  
issued from the device in her hand. "What does he want?"

Raymond read the message before giving Jacqueline the general idea. "He  
says our schedule just got tighter and to hurry."

"What does he think we're doing, working on our tans?" She swore again.

"Calm down. Either this works or it doesn't. Either way, we're going  
in tonight and seeing what can be done."


	5. Chapter 5

_City of the Star_ _Notes: Appreciate the reviews, guys! I have decided on doing the sequel _ _that I had planned, though I am doubting now the events I had planned _ _for it. Oh well, we'll make up our mind when we get there!_ _Chapter 5_ Raymond and Jacqueline had become quieter as the day stretched out into night. She sat the remains of the walkies on the bed next to her, nearly oblivious to the occasional squeak and squeal of static. She rose to her feet and stretched shortly after nine o'clock that night. "This is... weird," she said, breaking the silence. "What is?" "I expected the BSAA to be here by now." He joined her by the window and glanced out as well. "It's too still out there, too quiet. That could indict they're already here." "Good point." Raymond left her and returned to the bed. It might have been wishful thinking on his part, but for a moment he thought he heard a voice rather than static coming through the small speaker on the bed. He grabbed a bag and tossed it to her. She turned just in time to catch it. "Put that on as well." "Prepared for the worst, aren't you?" she asked, removing the kevlar vest from the bag. "Better to be safe than sorry, or has no one told you that?" She smirked and moved from the window to change. Once in her black Jacqueline felt somewhat safer. "Think this will work?" "As long as we come back with a sample, it works." "Right, right," Jacqueline said, crossing to the bed. She grabbed a few flash drives and pocketed them along with her phone. The handgun was last. When she looked up Raymond had returned to the window also dressed in all black. "Now?" she asked. He did not answer her immediately. He seemed to be watching something. "Yeah," he said as he turned from whatever had caught his attention. They slipped out the door and into the night, sticking close together and staying near the shadows. At one point Jacqueline thought of asking Raymond if he worried his hair would give them away, but she changed her mind. He knew what he was doing. At least she hoped he did. The front of the hospital seemed open and inviting, but walking in was not an option. They slipped up along the side of the building, close enough to look in but not be seen. "Distraction?" Jacqueline asked, looking at the people inside. There was a young woman asleep on a bench as an older woman and a man in scrubs stood by a large set of doors. "What are you thinking?" Raymond replied. "Other than we can't shoot them, no idea." Raymond pulled out his phone and punched in a number. It rang twice before Marco answered. Jacqueline, close enough to Raymond to hear, felt wary about calling him but said nothing. "That hospital, do you have the number for it? You can? Good. Call the front desk, tell the woman who answered there's some sort of emergency." Jacqueline gave Raymond's phone a death glare as she heard Marco's laugh. "You plan to go into the front?" he said, still chuckling. "Just do it! Unless, of course, you want to come get a sample yourself." Marco sighed dramatically and said, "Give me two minutes, then go and hope to whatever you believe in you do not get spotted." "Bastard," Jacqueline muttered as Raymond pocketed his phone. "Tell me about it." She and Raymond watched through the door, both silently wondering whether or not Marco was going to go through with it. When the older woman jumped slightly, then reached for the phone, they both tensed. With no idea what was being said, they got ready to run. Once the room was clear they had to move and fast. The woman hung up the phone slowly. She shook her head and then made a shooing motion to the double doors. The man went through them while she went in a door behind the desk. As soon as it shut Raymond had Jacqueline by the hand and lead her through the hospital door. To his surprise it made no noise as they entered. In no time at all they were through the doors the man had gone through. He released her hand, which she held onto, and surveyed the hall. Before they could take in their surroundings, hurried footsteps sounded from their left. "Here," Raymond said, shoving Jacqueline towards the nearest door. It turned out to be a small, pitch black room. He pulled her inside, holding her tightly to himself with one hand clasped over her mouth as they hid just behind the door. Their hiding space was passed by a small group of people clustered together and talking rapidly. Neither of them could understand what was being said, but both would later agree those people sounded pissed. Jacqueline looked up at Raymond, eyes wide and confused. "Stay still," was all he whispered. She nodded. After they passed, Raymond and Jacqueline waited for a minute before Raymond quickly peered out. "Let's go," he told her. "Got it," she replied. She followed him out of the room and into the hall. "Which way?" she asked. "We'll try left," he told her. Splitting up would be easier, but he did not fully trust Jacqueline just yet. Besides, splitting up had not worked so well with Rachael. Left turned out to be fruitful for them. The white walls became a dark gray as they went further down the hall, and several lights remained unlit. At the end of the hall was a door with a chain and lock strung through the handle. "Guess that's where we need to go," Jacqueline said. She sighed. "What are the odds the key is just lying around?" Raymond looked at her over his shoulder and said, "You'd be surprised. Take the left side. Let me know if you find it." He watched her go into the nearest door on her side of the hall before slipping into an empty office. As he searched the desk he realized he felt a little on edge. "No key," he murmured to himself after he finished the desk. He searched the room quickly, running a hand on the bookshelf, checking the pegs behind the door, and even reached into the pockets of the coat on the coat rack. As he reached the door he heard more footsteps. This time he drew his gun. These footsteps were heavy and made by boots, which meant one of two things: security or BSAA. "Stay put, Jackie," he muttered to himself. He stepped slowly towards the door, wondering if he could take anyone by surprise. Raymond had little chance for that. The door slowly opened. In walked a man, gun drawn. The two pointed their guns at each other simultaneously. "Drop your weapon!" the intruder demanded. Raymond smirked when he heard that familiar accent. "Drop yours, Parker," he replied. "Raymond?" Parker Luciani did not drop his weapon. His grip on the gun seemed to tighten in the dim lighting. "We're back to this again, I see." Behind Parker, Raymond saw movement. Keeping Parker distracted, Raymond began to talk. "Where else would we be, Parker? You'd turn me into the BSAA and you know it." "You could work with us. While in the FBC - " "I gave the BSAA hell and you know it. They wouldn't accept me, they'd throw me in jail." Parker gritted his teeth. "There are other people working for us that also have less than desirable track records, Raymond. It might not be quick, but - " For the second time in as many minutes Parker was interrupted. "Drop your weapon." Jacqueline's voice was hard, her body tense. Parker looked surprised. "I said drop it!" she snarled. Raymond nodded as if in approval. Jacqueline had surprised him, that was certain. He also liked this serious side of her. "Do it, Parker," Raymond commanded. His gun thumped to the carpet. Slowly raising his hands, Parker looked behind him. Then he scoffed. "Jacqueline Walz. I'm surprised." He looked at Raymond. "How did you wind up with her, Cadet?" "It's my job." Jacqueline, gun still pointed at Parker, tossed him something. Raymond easily snatched the small silver key out of the air. "Excellent," he told her. "Are you alone?" Jacqueline demanded of Parker. "No," he replied. "There are others around the city. We thought this would be easy, but of course nothing ever is, is it?" Raymond lowered his gun and said, "Let me unlock that door, then Parker can come with us." "How do you like that?" Jacqueline cooed to Parker. He scowled at her, a scowl that turned to a growl as she kept her gun on him, bent down, and retrieved his gun from the floor. She put it away, keeping her own weapon trained on him at all times. "Go on," she said. "You can be first." "Unarmed?" he demanded of her. "If there's a problem, we can handle it." To his surprise she reached forward and tapped the headset on his ear. "Don't try anything. Just tell me what comes through there, OK? My attempts at tapping your frequency weren't all that great, so it's a good thing we found you." "Tsh." He exited the room, Jacqueline right behind him. Raymond was waiting for them by the door, the lock and chain in his hand. As Parker pushed the door open, he looked back over his shoulder to Jacqueline. "You know, the BSAA can always use another hacker." Jacqueline frowned. "I know what you have on me, and I know how long my record is. The BSAA would probably just drop me in a ditch and be done with it." She gestured with her gun for him to go. With a sigh, Parker pushed the door open all the way. They went down an unlit staircase, guided only by Parker's flashlight. The sound of the roaring waves crashed around them, muffled by the walls but still loud enough to know that they were right at the ocean, if not going underneath it. At the bottom of the stairs was a door. It was, to their surprise, unlocked. Once inside Parker's flashlight was no longer necessary. The entire floor was bathed in a molten red glow. "So," Jacqueline said, squinting slightly as her eyes adjusted to the brightness, "tlatl huh?" "Makes sense now." To Parker's surprise, she turned to Raymond and smirked. "Jellyfish," was the only word she said. Raymond's mouth twitched slightly. "We need to find what we came here for and get out of here. The BSAA has a job to do, remember?" Jacqueline opened her mouth to speak, but before she could a loud metallic scream echoed in the room, followed by more screams, those of a human in fear and pain. "Damn it," Parker muttered. "Now of all times." "To think, if you only arrived an hour later - " Jacqueline cut off, stifling a shriek. One of the rooms to their left seemed to pulse with light. Instead of stepping closer to the room, she stepped closer to Raymond. "Am I seeing that right?" "Damn it, I think you are." On the glass window by the door clung a creature that seemed to be made of molten lava. As it moved, a bright fiery orange glow followed it. The long claws on its hands seemed to drip liquid fire and cinders. It snarled and screamed, trying its best to jump through the glass. Mixing tlatl into a Hunter seemed to have produced an interesting result... 


End file.
